Key to the King's Heart
by KXPenguin
Summary: After the defeat of the mountain lemurs, King Julien's kingdom is in need of repairs. Luckily, a mix up with potential suitors from a neighbouring lemur kingdom, Lemia, gives Julien another ring-tail that shows him how work is done. A dance party made sparks fly and a water slide mishap made the fire start in the king.
1. A Fresh Start

"Your Majesty, I present to you Princess Anya of Lemia," Clover bowed and stretched her hands towards the confused looking ring tail lemur in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I think you have-" she spoke, but was quickly interrupted.

"Anya! My homie!" Julien jumped up from his throne and down to the floor. "I've been expecting you, or something. Something about showing you around, making an alliance, something like that. Maurice thought of it," the king shrugged. "There's a lot to see around here, so we should begin like, immediately. You don't want to miss the party tonight."

The female lemur protested slightly as Julien grabbed her wrist. "Again, I'm not-"

Julien scoffed and waved his hand. "You'll be fine. We have a hot tub!" He pulled her towards the exit of the plane and out onto the baobab tree.

"Actually, a hot tub sounds kinda nice right now," the other lemur relaxed, accepting that Julien wasn't listening to her and decided to go with the flow. She followed Julien, Clover, and Maurice around the kingdom, getting introduced to all of the sights it had to offer, including Julien's insane amount of water slides and the new monument that Julien had erected after defeating Koto and the mountain lemurs. The tour was finished off with what Julien considered to be one of the most important aspects of his day next to partying.

"The royal hot tub!" Julien stretched his paws to the tub as they approached. "My favourite thing next to water slides, trampolines, parties, and mangoes. Jump in!" The king grabbed the edge and flung himself in, settling against the edge. "Clover, Maurice! Anya, don't be a stranger! Enjoy the tub!"

The female lemur pawed at the water curiously as Maurice and Clover got in a bit less dramatically than Julien. "So uh, can I speak now without being interrupted?"

"Sure thing," Maurice smiled. "What's on your mind?"

"So um, as I was saying earlier…" She looked towards the ground. "I'm not Anya. I'm not even a princess, Anya is my sister, sort-"

"Wouldn't being her sister make you a princess?" Julien asked, still lounging against the side of the tub. "What's the problem here? You're a princess of Lemia, the job is still being done."

"Well that's the thing, right? I'm her sister, I should be a princess, technically," the ring tail sighed. "I'm only her half sister. My mother wasn't the queen so I am a bastard. I can't take the throne nor hold any royal power unless there is no other heir. So I'm kinda a nobody."

"Wait," Julien held up a paw as the other two gaped in shock. "If you're not a princess, why are you here?"

"My sister sent me because she didn't care enough to come herself. She wants me gone and was hoping I would stay here so I don't 'take her throne', like I would ever want something touched by _her_." She cringed.

"Well, not-princess-Anya, what is your name?" Maurice asked. "We did just show you around the whole kingdom and set up a place for your bloodline to stay for a week or two, we should know your name."

"Angelica. My name is Angelica."

"Alright, now that the awkward is out of the way," Julien motioned to Angelica. "Not-royal-Angelica get in. You're technically representing your kingdom and you came all the way from another island, so Maurice will probably be mad if I don't treat you decently."

"Are you sure?" Angelica cocked her head and wrung her hands. "I'm not royal, I shouldn't be joining the king."

"I'm a lemur of the people, Angie," Julien laughed. "I party with my people, I can share a tub with a half-princess. I share it with Mort all the time and he's just a… thing. Come on, relax. Get ready for tonights off the hizzy party! Gotta be limber to grind some booty to the floor my man!"

"Well, I guess I can't refuse the king," Angelica laughed nervously and climbed into the tub, settling across from Julien between Maurice and Clover.

—

"This is a disaster, Maurice," Clover ran her hands over her eyes as her and Maurice stood on the sidelines of the party, watching Angelica stand awkwardly at the base of the rock king Julien was dancing on. "Princess Anya was supposed to be a suitor for his majesty, they were supposed to marry and form an alliance between the two kingdoms. With Angelica here, that whole plan has gone to ruin!"

Maurice chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry yourself, Clover. It'll be fine. I'm sure princess Anya will be here any day now, we'll just host Angelica like she is the actual princess. Worst case scenario, we can still form an alliance with Angelica. She is Anya's sister."

"But only her _half_ sister. She has no power because unless her sister dies, she can never claim the throne!" Clover grumbled.

"Yes, but Julien will still be related to the princess, thus making a sort of alliance." Maurice patted her back. "Everything will work out fine, Clover. I'm sure Anya is on her way as we speak."

"I hope you're right."

—

"Come on, Angie!" Julien shouted over the thumping music as he jumped down from the rock. "Dance! Shake what your momma gave you! Get wild!"

Angelica chuckled nervously and rubbed her arm. "I don't really dance. It's not my thing…"

"You're in my kingdom now baby! All lemurs must dance!" Julien grabbed her by the wrist, ignoring her startled gasp as he pulled her into the throng of lemurs. "Let it out girl! You got a booty, now shake it! Shake that booty!" The king let go of her wrist and resumed dancing. "Don't leave me hanging, Angie!"

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt…" she watched Julien for a moment before mimicking his movements. After a few moments, a smile broke out over her face. "Hey, this is actually fun!"

"I told you, Angie!" Julien laughed. "Now let yourself get crazy! Release the beast of the booty!"

Julien and Angelica spent the night dancing close to each other, Julien shouting words of encouragement while Angelica let loose for the first time in her life. They danced into the wee hours of the morning when lemurs started to fan out and go home for the night. The pair stayed until it was just them laughing and dancing alone, when Maurice and Clover interrupted and suggested they head to their huts for the night.

"Come, your majesty, it's time for you to get some sleep," Maurice took the king's arm. "Angelica should also get some rest. Clover, would you mind escorting Angelica to her hut?"

"Certainly," Clover nodded and motioned for Angelica to follow her. "Come with me, ma'am."

"Alright. Goodnight Julien, Maurice," Angelica smiled at them both and turned to follow Clover.

"See you tomorrow, Angie," Julien called after her. "You're an animal!"

Angelica grinned and looked towards the ground as she followed Clover up the baobab tree. "I'm guessing he's always like this?"

"Not so much. He's not usually this friendly to non-royalty. No offense," Clover grabbed on to a branch. "You appeared to enjoy yourself tonight. How was your first day in the kingdom?"

"I loved it, it was an amazing experience," Angelica sighed blissfully. "Thank you for sharing your kingdom with me."

"It was our pleasure," Clover stopped in front of a hut door. "This would be your hut for your stay here. I hope it is adequate."

"Well if you made it to my sister's ridiculous standards it will be more than adequate for me," Angelica approached the door and turned to look at Clover. "Thank you, Clover. Goodnight."

"Goodnight ma'am."

Angelica pushed the door open and looked around in awe. It was nicely decorated with a large, soft looking bed in the center of the back wall with a draping leaf canopy. She approached the bed and sat on the edge of it, sighing at the soft mattress. "This was definitely made for my sister." She curled up on the equally soft pillows and pulled the leaf blanket up over herself and settled down for a good night of sleep.


	2. Work Begins

Angelica yawned and cracked her eyes open. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head, for the first time in her life not hearing any uncomfortable pops or cracks.

 _Knock knock_.

She furrowed her brow, wondering who would be knocking at her door first thing in the morning. "Come in."

"Good morning, Angelica!" Maurice pushed the door open and brought in a tray of fruit and water. "Sleep well?"

"I did, yes." She frowned as Maurice set the tray on the table next to her bed. "What's all this?"

Maurice blinked at her. "Breakfast. You're our guest, and technically of royal relation so we must treat you as well as we treat his majesty."

Angelica smiled awkwardly. "You didn't have to bring me breakfast, Maurice. But I appreciate it, thank you," she picked up the bowl of fruit and looked at it curiously. "What is this?"

"Mangoes, pok pok berries, breadfruit, lychee, and plum. Is there something wrong?" Maurice cocked his head. "If there's something wrong, I can-"

"No, no, there's nothing wrong, it's lovely. It's just…" Angelica picked up a piece of breadfruit. "Back home, breadfruit and plum is reserved for royal consumption only."

"Well, here it's not. It's open to everyone," Maurice grinned. "Including you. Once you're finished, king Julien would like to see you. Clover and I think you might be able to help him get something done around here that isn't partying."

Angelica nodded. "Thank you, I'll be there in a few moments."

—

"I don't understand, Maurice," Julien hung off his throne, his arms stretched towards the ground. "Why would she send someone else? If I were going to be a kingly presence somewhere, I would go myself. I like Angelica, but it's all just so confusing."

"Anya didn't come because she didn't care, your majesty," Angelica stepped into the room. "Forgive my interruption, but she didn't care to see your kingdom nor care to form an alliance by possibly wedding you. Anya lives in her own little world and anyone that isn't her doesn't matter."

Julien looked appalled for a moment before jumping up to sit on his throne properly. "Me? Not mattering?" He held a hand to his chest. "That's the most ridiculous thing ever! I'm very important!"

"I believe her exact words were; 'you go see the filthy commoner's kingdom. Nothing can be as grand as Lemia, especially made by a bunch of Julien kings. Stay there for all I care, it's below me.'" Angelica sighed. "Those were her words. To be fair, Lemia is quite a sight," Angelica shrugged. "But, this kingdom knows how to enjoy themselves. Anya doesn't. Everyone there just works all day and then goes to bed. Sleep, eat work. Rinse and repeat. It's kinda boring."

Julien gasped. "No parties? No trampolines? Water slides?"

Angelica shook her head. "None."

"You poor lemur!" He jumped down off his throne and took her by the shoulders. "No wonder you're so weird about dancing. You don't know fun!" He set a hand on top of her head and pulled her close. "You've been denied such basic pleasures of life as water slides."

"Uh…" Angelica looked between Clover and Maurice, seeing their surprised looks. "Sure, your majesty. Could you, um, let go of me now?"

"Oh, you're right, yes," Julien pushed himself away. "This must be fixed at once! I must show you the royal water slides! Come, Angelica! Find what you've been missing your whole life!" He took her by the wrist and lead her outside.

Clover and Maurice exchanged a worried look.

"They get along well, so far," Maurice shrugged. "Angelica seems like a level headed person. Maybe she'll rub off on Julien a bit."

Clover snorted. "Yeah, right. Julien, level headed. Sure, Maurice. I'm just worried he'll screw this alliance up and start another war. We should probably follow him before he gets himself or Angelica hurt."

"Agreed."

—

"Welcome, to the best time of your life!" Julien rubbed his paws together as he and Angelica stood at the top of the water slide. "You gotta try it Angie, come on!" Julien jumped onto the slide screaming with delight as he went down, landing gracefully in the water at the bottom. "Come on, Angie! Try it!" The king shouted from the bottom.

Angelica looked at the wooden structure cautiously. She carefully put one foot on it, and went to put the other one on but slipped and ended up going face first down the slide. She screamed in fear as the end approached. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't see the rock she was likely going to collide with and… found herself meeting with fur rather than cold rock. Angelica opened her eyes and looked up, finding herself in the arms of king Julien himself. "Uh… your majesty?"

Julien blinked, seeming to realize what he was doing. "Oh, uh, Angie. That was dope, right?" He laughed nervously, setting her in the water and folding his hands behind his back.

"Yeah, sure. That was pretty… terrifying, not gonna lie," Angelica looked back at the slide. "I'd like to try again without slipping this time."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Julien grinned. "Let's get back up there!"

Clover and Maurice watched the two in a bit of confusion. "Did king Julien just catch her?" Clover asked, looking down at Maurice.

"I think he did. He never does that… for anyone!" Maurice rubbed his chin. "He didn't even seem to think about it."

"Maybe the king is going soft."

Maurice laughed. "That's a good one. He's known her two days, maybe he's just being nice to her."

"When is his majesty nice to anyone without a reason?" Clover raised a brow. "It might be the start of something more… serious. That's a terrifying thought," Clover cringed slightly.

"That's it, Angie! You go girl!" Julien cheered as Angelica slid down the slide, landing in the water with a splash.

Angelica laughed. "That was amazing! I can't believe every kingdom doesn't have these! Let's do it again!"

"That's the spirit, sister!" Julien gave her a high five. "You're learning real fast."

"Forgive the intrusion, your majesty," Clover approached the two. "But there are things that need to be done today, and that is the reason Angelica met you this morning, to get work done."

"Oh," Julien's shoulders sagged. "Right. Work, repairing from the war, food shortage, right. Okay, sorry Angelica," Julien turned to her. "I guess we have to work now."

"Not a problem, your majesty," Angelica smiled. "After all, work is my specialty. What have you got?"

—

Maurice unrolled a scroll of paper in front of Angelica while Julien sat on his throne, chin in hands looking out the window. "We have much of the kingdom to rebuild still, the prison camp to finish taking down, we're behind on the harvest, people are hungry, we need to build a school, a daycare for the children so parents can start working again, we need to fix the hospital… there's a lot to do." He handed her a map of the kingdom.

Angelica nodded as she read over the list. "This isn't hard at all. It'll take a while, but it's a simple fix," she turned to Julien. "Your Majesty, if I may have your permission to take on fixing your kingdom?"

Julien waved his paw dismissively. "Mhm, sure. Go ahead."

"Your majesty, with all due respect," Maurice protested. "It's your kingdom. You should at least be helping!"

Julien rolled his eyes. "Fine. Hit me, Angelica. What have you got?"

"So the mountain lemurs made this huge space for the prison camp, right?"

Julien nodded absently.

"Once that's clear, we'll have this big empty space next to your war monument where Koto's used to be. We can fill that space with huts to solve the housing shortage, and put a daycare and school combo there. There is more than enough space once it's cleared," Angelica pointed to the camp space on the map. "I'll need about 15 workers and I can have it cleared in 3 days. As for the food shortage, give me 10 workers and I'll have all the ripe fruit in the kingdom harvested and stored in 4 days."

Julien, Maurice, and Clover's jaws dropped.

"That… that solves both the housing and food shortage from the war, at least temporarily," Maurice grinned, shaking his head. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Angelica shrugged. "I have to fix my sister's problems because they're 'below' her. It's just something I picked up along the way."

"Angie you saucy minx," Julien hopped down from his throne and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I should keep you around! You're good at fixing problems that I don't want to strain my royal brainy parts with. With you around this kingdom could be problem free in a week!"

"Maybe not that quickly, your majesty," Angelica laughed nervously. "But thank you."

"Clover!" Julien turned to his head of security. "Get Angie here the lemurs she needs to do the things she just said. We're about to have solution kingdom baby!"

"On it!" Clover saluted and jumped out of the nearby window.

"Angie, with you here in my kingdom, all of my people's problems will be fixed!" Julien giggled like a child and rubbed his paws together with a grin. "We'll be good as new! It'll be like before the mountain lemurs attacked - but better!"

Angelica gave a nervous look towards Maurice, and he shot her a smile. "If you insist, your majesty. I would be glad to stay and help you repair the kingdom. It's not as if I have much awaiting me at home."

"I do! I do very much insist!" Julien jumped up and stood on his throne. "It'll be a brand new lemur kingdom out there! My people will love me even more than they already do!"


	3. A Wild Night

Julien looked around at the working lemurs as he approached Angelica, who was overseeing the construction of the new huts now that the prison camp had been taken down. Work appeared to be going well, and the people were actually happy to be working to improve their kingdom. "How are… improvementy things?"

Angelica turned to the king with a smile. "King Julien! Everything is going wonderfully. These huts and the new school should be done in about a week! That, and the harvest is almost done, which means the food shortage will be almost completely gone. I've come up with some plans to make a community garden that will also provide extra food in the future as well as a place for citizens to relax." The ring tail beamed and giggled.

"I see." Julien nodded slowly. "And after this, the kingdom can go back to being fun?"

"Oh, of course," Angelica nodded with a grin. "Once this is done, everyone will be free to go back to partying until they drop, your majesty."

"Great!" Julien rubbed his paws together with a grin. "Keep up the great work! We're gonna have the most killer party ever once this is done!"

"That would be a great way to end my stay here," Angelica turned back to the working lemurs. "A nice party before I return home to Lemia."

Julien froze. "Return home? I thought there was nothing for you there."

"Oh, there isn't," Angelica chuckled, kicking at the ground. "But my stay here is only for two weeks, I wouldn't want to over stay my welcome. I have to go home at some point."

"I see, yes. That makes sense," Julien sighed. "Well, I'll see you later, Angie. Make those lemurs work!"

"Will do, your majesty!"

Julien walked away from the other ring tail. He felt a bit… disappointed about her departure in only a week and a half's time. He shrugged it off as just being upset he'd have to _do_ things himself again. He barely knew the girl, after all, not nearly long enough to have any sort of attachment to her. He still felt like he would be losing a friend, no matter how short of a time he'd known her. A water slide would take his mind off it.

—

Angelica stretched as she stepped outside her hut. With the harvest complete and the community garden started, there was only just over a week left of work to do before her job was done and she was off to home. She sat down on the branch of the baobab tree in front of her hut, looking out over the uniquely beautiful kingdom she'd been helping to fix. She took a deep breath in, the smell of summer flowers and ripe mangoes filling her nose. She pulled her tail onto her lap and fidgeted with the stripped fur as she watched the lemurs working on the new housing in the distance.

"Morning, Angie. Mind if I join you?"

Angelica jumped at the familiar but unexpected voice. She looked up to see the smiling king Julien. "Oh, king Julien. Of course, go ahead," she shifted slightly on the branch.

The king settled down and glanced over the land in front of them. "Like what you see?"

"It certainly is an interesting kingdom. It's not what I'm used to, that's for sure," Angelica resumed watching the workers.

"How so?" Julien quizzed, cocking his head.

"It's so… wild," the female ring tail sighed. "Back home everything is so organized. We have our central tree, yes, but there's a huge castle build in the branches, with the royal watering hole at it's base in the cliff behind the tree. Then there's houses and schools and cafes in neat rows almost as far as the eye can see. After that, there's fruit groves that have been cultivated for generations. They're all in neat rows and everything is tidy. All of the food plants are in neat fields and kept even and clean. Granaries line the outskirts of the kingdom before the fields to store all the food that can be stored. You have to go for miles before you find wild jungle, but here… it's everywhere. You live amongst it, with it. It's beautiful, but so strange and different compared to what I'm used to," she looked over at the king. "I'm used to order, but this kingdom is like you. Crazy and wild."

Julien froze for a moment, mulling her words over in his head. He nodded slowly. "Thank you. I take it you like it then?"

"I do," Angelica turned to look out over the land again with a smile. "It's peaceful here. No Anya barking orders and punishing anyone that might interfere with her sense of order. Every queen has been like that in Lemia. Full of themselves, bossy, overly demanding, taking order and neatness way too far. None of them have really known how to relax. Come to think of it, no one there knows how to relax," she looked down at her feet. "Once we can walk and talk we're pretty much told to work and stay in line. No one questions it."

"That sounds super boring," Julien frowned. "No parties, no fun, no water slides. How have you people survived this long?"

"Under the iron rule of my sister's family, that's how. My creation is one of the most daring things that a lemur has done in recent history in Lemia. That's part of why my sister bosses me around, she doesn't want to face the shame of the king cheating on queen Anya III," Angelica shrugged. "It's not all bad. Crime is low, people are mostly happy. They don't ask for what they don't know about."

"What are you going to do when you go back? You've been introduced to fun and parties, it's going to be boring when you go home."

"I'll figure it out," Angelica twiddled her thumbs as she watched over the kingdom. "It won't be that bad, I'll survive."

"You'll survive, but you won't _live,_ " Julien stood up. "Come on, you're going to have as much fun as possible while you're here. I will not rest until you've been completely max fun-d."

Angelica looked up at him in shock. "But your majesty, I have other things-"

"You can be boring and work when you're back home. You're with KJ now, baby! We're gonna make you have fun, and that's an order!" He held his hand out to her. "You can't deny an order."

Angelica laughed, taking his hand. "I guess I can't, your majesty. Fun me."

The pair spent the day running about the kingdom with Clover and Maurice running after them trying to keep them from inflicting serious harm to themselves. Water slides were slid on, trampolines were bounced on, cliffs bungee-d off of. Julien was determined to change Angelica's boring life, at least for a short time. They spent the day laughing and screaming with delight, and finished it all off with a soak in the royal hot tub.

"Today was… amazing," Angelica breathed, looking over at the relaxed king with a smile. "Thank you, your majesty. I certainly won't forget this when I return home. I appreciate it."

"It was nothing, Angie," Julien waved it off and cracked open his eyes. "It's like, a law or something that everyone here must have a lot of fun, guest or citizen. You just have to have more fun if you live here and attend all of my epic dance parties."

"Your majesty!" Maurice panted, coming out of a nearby bush. "Finally caught up to you. How do you two move so fast?"

"This is why I'm in shape," Clover sighed, following behind Maurice. "Chasing after you all day long. It's quite the workout, and your new lady friend has just made it twice as much work."

"Lady- Lady what now?" Julien gaped, sitting straight up to glare at Clover.

"We're barely even friends, Clover," Angelica shook her head. "Much less… _that_. He just wanted to show me a good time before I have to leave in a week."

"That's what they all say," Clover crossed her arms.

"Clover, I promise you, there is nothing between Angie and I but my disappointment in her people for not knowing how to have a good time." He folded his arms over his chest. "Friends can have fun, Clover."

"Whatever you say, your majesty," Maurice chuckled. "Xi-Xi has invited you to dinner at her place, by the way. Angelica should join you, Xi-Xi usually makes enough to feed ten lemurs when she decides to host dinner."

Julien looked over at Angelica, who was staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. "Sure, why not? Maybe another woman will have Xi-Xi prattling less."


	4. A Break in the King

Julien and Angelica sat on a branch of the baobab tree, laughing and staring at the sky.

"Dinner with Xi-Xi was fun," Angelica grinned. "I hope we can do that again before I leave."

"Pfft, getting Xi-Xi to have dinner parties is easy," Julien waved a dismissive paw. "All you gotta do is say 'dinner' and she has a six course meal and event planned out already. It'll happen again, don't worry."

"Yeah. No wonder she's your journalist though, she seems like such a gossip. Did you hear the questions she was asking me? It's like she was writing my damn biography!"

"That's just Xi-Xi. The more info she has on you, the better. At least that's what she thinks," Julien stretched out on the branch. "I enjoyed tonight, despite Xi-Xi's incessant chatter. Throw in an epic dance party and it would've been perfect."

"Work will be done in a few days, have all the parties you want then," Angelica laid on the branch next to him. "Just don't wreck the place. I worked hard on those designs and I would hate to see it ruined."

"You worry too much," the king closed his eyes and put a hand on his chest. "It'll be just the way you left it for at least two weeks. After that, I make no promises. Sometimes my parties just get a little crazy, yaknow? Also foosa, crocodiles, sometimes butterflies. Mort."

"I guess that's all I can ask for," Angelica looked up at the star filled sky. "I'm really going to miss it here."

"You can always come back, yaknow. It's not like you're being banished."

"I doubt my sister will let me return. She doesn't want ideas corrupting her precious kingdom, and the ones I bring back might be enough for her to forbid my leaving," Angelica sighed. "The memories are worth it though."

Julien opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. What if she didn't have to leave? He didn't have this much fun with anyone else in the kingdom. She was fun, yet responsible enough to know when something was too dangerous. She was smart, but knew how to have a good time. She was fixing his kingdom's problems for him, in a way that made sense. But her kingdom needed her, it wouldn't be fair to keep her away from home. However, he was never a king to think about fair or justness.

"What if you-"

"Your majesty!" Maurice called from the other end of the branch. "You have a big day tomorrow, as does Angelica. You should both be retiring for the night."

"Just a minute, Maurice!" Julien shook his head, turning back to Angelica who was already sitting up.

"He's right. We should both be heading in. I have to lay out the foundation of the community garden tomorrow and make sure everything is going smoothly with the new housing," the female ring tail stood up. "Goodnight, your majesty. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Angie," Julien sat up and gave her a half smile as she walked away. There was a slight pain in his heart, one he couldn't identify nor understand as he watched Angelica climb the tree to her hut. He walked to his own slower than usual, it was like his feet were made of lead. He climbed up the tree and to his door, pushing it open. Once he was in, he leaned against it and sunk to the floor, looking out the window by his bed. "I don't understand, Frank. What is this? What's happening to me?"

Silence filled the room.

After a few moments that felt like eternity, Julien sighed and stood up, treading over to his bed. He set his crown on the bedside table and curled up under the blanket. It was a long time before the king drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

—

"Your majesty!" Maurice shook the sleeping king. "King Julien, wake up!"

Julien pushed Maurice's paw away. "Not now, Mo-mo," Julien mumbled, rolling over.

"King Julien, it's urgent," the aye-aye shook the king again. "Angelica has been injured!"

Julien's eyes cracked open. "Hm? What?" The king sat up and rubbed his forehead, blinking a few times to wake himself up.

Then it hit him.

"Angelica's been what now?" The ring tail jumped out of bed and snatched his crown off the table. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"Doctor S has her, a- a branch fell and broke her arm real bad. She's not in good shape, your majesty," Maurice pulled at his tail in worry.

"Well don't just stand there, let's go! Angie's in need, Maurice!" Julien bolted out the door, Maurice following behind him. "Can't have foreign ambassadors dying while in our kingdom!"

The pair raced to the hospital cave as quickly as they could, pushing people out of the way as they went and raising curious looks in their direction. They climbed the mountain and dashed into the cave, running down the dark hallway. The two screeched to a halt, nearly running into Clover.

Julien looked past Clover, ignoring whatever she was saying, and saw Angelica laying on a cot, some of the fur on her arm soaked with blood. "Angie, are you okay?" The king hurried to her side.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Angelica gave him a weak smile. "It'll take a couple weeks to heal, but I'll live."

Maurice looked up at the giant snake doctor. "What do you think, doc?"

"Well, the bone pierced her skin, leaving a rather nasssty wound," the doctor lowered down over Angelica. "But according to my out dated medical books, with some rest and a cast ssshe should be fine. Ssshe cannot return home until it is healed, as sailing would risssk re-injury."

Angelica's face dropped. "But doctor," she went to sit up, crying out in pain as she put pressure on her arm. Julien guided her back down. "I need to go home in less than a week! I can't stay, it's rude."

"I don't make the rulesss," doctor S hissed out. "If you try to set sssail before it is healed, you'll have to ssstay longer."

"Don't worry, Angelica. We will gladly host you until your injury is fully healed," Clover stated, stepping up beside her bed. "After all, you did get injured on our soil. It's our responsibility now."

Angelica sighed, looking between Clover and the king. "I guess staying an extra while wouldn't kill anyone. Thank you."

"Don't sweat it, Angie," Julien smiled. "You're fixing my kingdom, it's the least I can do. Doctor S, have her taken to her hut. She needs her rest so she can heal and…" he sighed. "Return home."

Angelica was taken to her hut, where Maurice brought her food and water from time to time and made sure she was comfortable. The repairs on the kingdom continued for the next few days while Angelica laid in bed, feeling useless the whole time.

"I hate just laying about, Maurice," Angelica grumbled, staring up at the bed's canopy. "I can't do anything, I feel so useless. I should be out there doing something," she turned her head to look at the aye-aye. "Is everything finished?"

"All of the repairs are done, as is the community garden. King Julien is out there right now marveling at it," Maurice thought for a moment. "I might be able to help you down there if you'd like to see for yourself."

Angelica smiled, and sat up slowly. "I'd like that."

—

King Julien stood in the middle of the community garden, his mouth agape as he looked at it all. It was beautifully made, with short fences separating sections, some decorative and some for food. There were four benches in a circle in the middle of it, making a perfect place to sit and relax.

"Do you like it?"

Julien jumped, whirling around to face the voice. "Angelica! You're supposed to be in bed! What are you doing down here?"

"I got tired of sitting about, Maurice helped me down the tree so I could see how everything looked," she gave him a soft smile and nodded down towards Maurice. "How did I do?"

"It's amazing, Angie," Julien walked over to her, patting her gently on the shoulder. "I'm sure- wait, hold still," he felt her forehead. "Angie, you're warm, really warm."

"What?" Maurice looked up at the female ring tail in concern. "Angelica, how do you feel?"

"I've felt a bit off lately, a bit more than the last few days," she chuckled. "I'm sure it's nothing. Just a bit of a fever is all."

"Angelica! You have an open wound, you could have an infection!" Maurice ran his fingers over his ears. "This isn't good!"

"I'm fine, I promise, I'm…" Angelica trailed off. "I actually feel a bit dizzy…" the lemur took a deep breath and collapsed. Julien caught her before she went down.

"We need to bring her to my hut, and get doctor S there as soon as possible," Julien carefully picked up the unconscious lemur.

"Why your hut, your majesty?"

"Someone clearly needs to watch over her, more than just you can do in her hut," Julien started towards the baobab tree. "In my hut we can both make sure she's not dead or something since she clearly can't take care of herself. Go get doctor S!"

Julien carefully brought Angelica up to his hut, making sure to jostle her as little as possible. He brought her inside and gently set her down on the couch near his bed and checked her temperature again. She was burning up and sweating so much her fur was moist, but small shivers racked her frame. The king glanced around the room before his eyes fell on his own blanket. He snatched it off his bed and covered her with it, a sharp pain going through him when she whimpered softly and clutched the blanket with her good hand.

Julien paced the floor as he waited for the doctor, occasionally checking on the unconscious lemur on his couch. There was a foul, sick odour about her, one that commonly lingered around infected wounds. He feared the worst, but at the same time couldn't understand why. He never really felt concern for anyone but himself, and Maurice the few times he was sick. Yet here he was, with a woman that he had known for two weeks laying asleep in his hut with a high fever, and he was worried. He was genuinely and truly worried about her well being, and was willing to take time out of his day to check up on her and make sure she was alright. The king slumped against the foot of the couch, staring at the floor and wishing for Maurice and doctor S to hurry up.

The door burst open. "King Julien! We brought the doctor!" Clover shouted, stepping aside to let Maurice and Doctor S in. "How is she?"

Doctor S slithered up to the couch and placed his tail on her forehead. "Feverisssh. Likely an infection from her wound. Nurse Phantom!" The snake turned to the other three. "I'm going to ask you to leave the room ssso I can treat my patient."

The trio nodded. Julien hesitated for a moment before following Clover and Maurice out.


End file.
